SCROLL DOWN

What kind of laser eye surgery is right for you?

21

Oct

2016

Until contact lenses were made popular in the 1950’s, the only way to correct vision problems was to wear glasses. Fast forward to 2016 and there is an abundance of different approaches to correct vision, from reshaping the cornea in laser eye surgery procedures such as LASIK and PRK, to refractive lens exchange surgery.

So how do you know what one is right for you?

Laser Eye Surgery Options

LASIK

Are you always misplacing your reading glasses or fed up with having to insert contact lenses everyday? If the answer is yes, then LASIK eye surgery might be for you. LASIK eye surgery is the most widely performed laser eye surgery to correct short sight, long sight, astigmatism, and presbyopia (the need for reading glasses). The surgery changes the curvature of the cornea so that light entering the eye will be correctly focused on the retina at the back of the eye, resulting in a clear image. Before you decide on LASIK eye surgery, speak to a surgeon to find out whether LASIK is right for you. Most people who have healthy eyes and have short-sight are good candidates, and mild to moderate degrees of long-sightedness can also usually be treated. However there are some conditions where LASIK might not be right for you:

Changing prescription. LASIK might not be the best option if your glasses or contact lens prescription is still changing. Your prescription needs to be stable for at least 12 to 24 months before undergoing laser eye correction.

Dry eyes/ Dry eyes is the most common complication from laser eye surgery worldwide, but with proper patient selection and pretreatment to improve eye lubrication, this can be avoided. At Focus we have a rigorous selection process and can spend several months getting your eyes ready for LASIK surgery.

Severe refractive errors. If you have a very high prescription then LASIK might not be right for you. That’s not to say the treatment won’t work – it can greatly reduce the severity but there’s a chance you might still require glasses afterwards.

Keratoconus. This is a corneal thinning problem and if you suffer from this or any other similar problem such as pellucid marginal degeneration, then there is little chance you can have LASIK.

After a consultation where you should receive a complete eye health examination to ensure your eyes are suitable for the procedure, if you find that you are not suitable for LASIK eye surgery, a number of other vision correction options could be available:

LASEK/ PRK

Similarly to LASIK, LASEK and PRK laser eye treatments reshape the cornea to correct abnormalities in focus. The difference, however, is that there is no flap made in the cornea, and this can cause significant pain post surgery and a more prolonged healing time. For those reasons alone, this procedure is far less popular than LASIK. However that doesn’t mean it might not be the right procedure for you. PRK is usually chosen for patients with thinner corneas where you want to avoid creating a LASIK flap. PRK/LASEK is especially suitable for those in contact sports or extremely active lifestyles as it leaves the cornea extremely stable, without the creation of the flap. To determine if you’re a candidate for this type of procedure, it will be necessary to have a complete laser eye surgery consultation from a trained professional.

Refractive Lens Exchange

If you’re over 50 and have distance and reading vision problems then this might be the procedure for you. RLE surgery replaces the clear natural lens inside the front part of the eye with an artificial intraocular lens. The most likely patients are:

Those with moderate to high degrees of long-sight (hyperopia)

Those aged 50+ who use reading glasses (presbyopia)

Those not suitable for LASIK

RLE is generally recommended for people over 50 because at this age, people will have already started to develop presbyopia, which is the natural ageing process of the lens within your eye, resulting in reduced ability to focus on things close to you (e.g. reading).

The NHS explain that there are two different types of lenses used for RLE: monofocal and multifocal. The former improves your long distance sight but you’d still need to wear glasses for near-work, and the latter provides clear distance, middle and near, however 1% of people find they cannot get used to them and opt for another form of lens exchange operation.

Cataract surgery

Cataracts are very common, especially among those aged 70 and over. More than 300,000 cataract surgery procedures are carried out each year in the UK, which goes to show how common the problem is. A cataract is a clouding of the normally clear lens inside the front part of the eye, and can’t be fixed with glasses or contact lenses. If you suffer with the following symptoms then you might have cataracts:

Difficulty to see in low or very bright light

Development/ increase in short-sight

Glare from strong lights which become uncomfortable or dazzling

Colours which appear washed out or have a yellow or brown hue

Double vision

Headlights or streetlights have a halo around them

If you have any of these symptoms, speak to a consultant who can advise you on cataract removal procedures.

Remember suitability is the most important step in the whole laser eye treatment process. Successful laser eye surgery is about selecting and screening for the right candidates so why not book a consultation today?

Sources

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Eyehealth/Pages/Lasers.aspx

If you are interested in vision correction at Focus Clinics please call us on 0207 307 8250 to book a free consultation.

By: David

If you are interested in vision correction at Focus Clinic please call us on 0207 307 8250 and book a free consultation.

Reading glasses and blended vision

As we get a little older we all eventually suffer from something known as ‘Presbyopia’. It’s sounds complicated but it is simply a condition in which the lens of the eye loses its ability to focus, making it difficult to see objects up close. A lens’ ability to focus depends on its ‘elasticity’ – i.e. […]

What is Blepharitis?

Blepharitis becomes especially important when we are looking to perform laser eye surgery, e.g. Z-LASIK. Blepharitis is linked with dryness of the eyes and should be treated before having vision correction, to increase the moisture over the cornea (which does temporarily become drier after treatment). This LASIK post-op dryness recovers within 3-6 months, and is […]

What are floaters?

Some people can notice a change in their floaters after having laser eye surgery, either a change in pattern or an increase. This seems to happen mainly for those patients with very high amounts of shortsight (myopia), eg -7.00 dioptres or higher. Also patients are paying much more attention to their vision, and the quality […]

What is macular degeneration?

This is a common eye disease linked to ageing that in time will destroys sharp, clear central vision due to damage to the retina. The retina is the very thin tissue that lives at the back of the eye and contains the light-sensing cells which are sending visual signals to the brain. Sharp, clear, ‘straight […]

Specialist treatments at FOCUS

Many people think of laser eye surgery as a treatment for standard degrees of short-sight. However at Focus Clinic this is just part of what we do. In addition to offering a range of treatments for long sight and also presbyopia (reading vision correction), our expertise allows us to go beyond the normal ‘standard’. Our specialist treatments […]

The bionic eye

Is science fiction becoming a reality? After years of intensive engineering a bionic eye has been approved for commercial use. Named the Argus II, it is a device that can improve sight for individuals who can see virtually nothing, making previously impossible tasks attainable. People with certain types of blindness can go from seeing virtually […]

TETRIS improves vision?

Many people believe that computer games can be detrimental to your vision, but surprisingly the addictive puzzle game Tetris can help to improve Amblyopia, commonly known as ‘Lazy Eye’. Amblyopia occurs when the nerves that connect one of the eyes to the brain develop incorrectly as a child. As a result, blurry or wrong images […]

What is presbyopia?

Reading glasses and surgical options You can’t escape Presbyopia, the medical term for the loss of reading vision in middle age. Sadly, it will happen to us all eventually. Even if you’ve never had a vision problem before. It usually occurs around the ages of 45-50 in the UK, and earlier in warmer and more […]

Hayfever and itchy eyes – What to do?

Finally we have a warm week and it feels like summer is here. But for more than 15,000,000 people in the UK suffering with hay fever it’s all about sneezing, itchy eyes and a runny nose. To help those of you suffering in the sun, we’ve compiled a list of top tips for battling those […]

Eye tracking

Eye tracking is the measurement of eye activity. Where do we look? What do we ignore? When do we blink? It is becoming more and more common place within a variety of technologies from gaze controlled mobile phones and televisions to diagnosing brain disorders. Here are a few of its uses: Laser Vision Correction […]

New part of the eye discovered

New part of the eye discovered You would think that in 2013, we would know all there is to know about human anatomy, and then scientists go and find a whole new body part! Where do we find it? In the eye, the organ that helps us to see clearly. I looks like we were […]

Protecting your eyes from the sun

Protecting your eyes from the sun As Britain sizzles in the hottest weather recorded since 2006, hundreds of thousands of people are set to get ready to attend some of the biggest summer events and make last minute holiday getaways. We know the dangers of unprotected skin from the sun’s rays, but what about ultraviolet […]

Bluetooth glasses or laser eye surgery?

Bluetooth glasses or laser eye surgery? Do you find that you keep misplacing your glasses? Or do you have several pairs dotted around the house, car and office, so that you so do not find yourself without them? Phone Halo thinks that they have found a solution. They have designed a special pair of glasses […]

Computer games and vision

Christmas is drawing closer and everybody is hunting for the perfect gift for their loved ones. On the top of many lists will be some of the brand new computer game consoles that have just been launched such as Xbox One or Playstation 4. You will have probably heard that these kind of games can […]

Helping those who cannot see, with science

Helping those who cannot see, with science Scientists from Cambridge University say that they have successfully managed to print new eye cells. These cells could be used to treat and cure certain types of blindness. this Bio-printing technology is the first step towards using 3D printer technology to create artificial tissue, and is currently being […]

Using eyes to fight crime

Using eyes to fight crime? Researchers at the University of Glasgow have been able to distinguish faces from their reflection in another person’s eye. The team have used a 39 megapixel camera to take a photograph of a person in perfect lighting from one metre away. The resulting high resolution image could then be enlarged, […]

City living and dry eyes

An American study has found that city living increases the likelihood of suffering from dry eyes. Dry Eye Syndrome is a condition where either the eyes do not make enough tears, or the tears that are made evaporate from the eye too quickly. Lack of tears causes the eye to dry out which can leave […]

How an app can help the blind

A smart phone app has been developed which will help blind and visually impaired people navigate their surroundings. Standard navigational apps currently use GPS and voice controls for directions which can run into problems in certain situations. For example, the directions can stop working when GPS is not available and voice directions can be drowned […]

Smart tech comes to contact lenses

One in every nineteen people suffer from diabetes today, and this number is set to rise as our lifestyles and eating habits become more unhealthy. By 2035 it is predicted that this number will rise to one in ten. An important part of caring for and managing diabetes it getting your blood sugar levels […]

Laser eye surgery recovery: how long does it take?

Laser eye surgery recovery: how long does it take? If you are thinking of undertaking laser eye surgery, planning your recovery and a suitable time to have the treatment will be very important. Most patients (about 97%) who come to Focus Clinic choose to have LASIK treatment. This laser eye surgery recovery is a fast treatment, […]

What happens if I blink during laser eye surgery?

The idea of having laser surgery can be a frightening thought. One of the most common concerns that we hear is whether you will be able to keep your eyes open for long enough, and then what happens if you blink? We would like to take this time to give you some reassurance. We all […]

New eye layer linked to glaucoma

Last July we reported on a very exciting discovery of a new human body part! It was an extra layer in the eye, called Dua’s layer, named after its discoverer Dr Harminder Dua. The finding of the new layer, was expected to hold the key to many eye diseases, why they occurred, and more importantly, […]

Heard of a burning smell during laser eye surgery? Don’t worry your eyes aren’t burning! One of the main myths about laser eye surgery is that the burning smell many experience during their procedure means your eyes are burning. You may have read comments such as “I could smell burning during the treatment” and been […]

Smart phones become eye-phones

Researchers at Stanford University have developed two adaptors for smartphones that will allow the phones to take high quality images of both the front and the back of the eye. Currently these pictures need to be taken by a camera that is attached to a slit lamp. The slit lamp is a very expensive piece […]

How to accentuate your eye colour after laser eye surgery

People choose to have laser eye surgery for a variety of different reasons. To avoid the hassle of glasses and contact lenses, to gain freedom to fully enjoy sporting pursuits or to simply gain a confidence boost. Whatever your motivation, you will probably find that you will be showing off your beautiful eyes for the very […]

Age 18 to 30 with driving glasses

More and more people age 18-30 are being prescribed glasses, from the use of technology gadgets, computers and for driving. The most common reason for those age 18-30 and need glasses for driving and other distance vision problems, or who wear glasses full time is: Myopia, also known as short-sight You may also have astigmatism, […]

Age 18-30 and reading glasses

The most common reason for vision issues for people from 18-30, who need glasses for reading (and who may wear glasses full time) is: Hyperopia, also known as long-sight / longsighted You may also have astigmatism, either alone or combined with long-sight How does hyperopia/long-sightedness develop? According to the National Eye Institute, hyperopia develops in […]

Age 31 to 40 and driving glasses

Those in their 30s who need glasses for short-sight, with or without astigmatism, are the largest group seeking laser eye surgery. They usually wear glasses or contact lenses throughout the day, or sometimes just for driving and watching TV or a film if the myopia is mild. Most short-sighted and astigmatic prescriptions are stable by the age […]

Does LASIK wear off?

Does LASIK wear off? What do we know about long-term effects of LASIK? It’s been around 25 years – is that really enough time to discern long-term effects? Yes, it would appear so. There are rare changes that have been observed up to 2 years after treatment (and which are treatable), otherwise we haven’t seen any other effects, […]

How to choose a laser eye surgeon

How to choose a laser eye surgeon – What should people consider when choosing a surgeon, what should they ask him/her about their qualifications etc? What should they be looking for? An important question is actually one many people don’t think of – how many other patients will have treatment with that surgeon on the […]